Learning to love
Contamination from sinful activity requires proportionate atonement. That is the prescription of the scriptures. Śukadeva Gosvāmī says that if one accepts atonement before death, in his next life he will not fall down. If he does not atone, he willcarry with him the resultant reactions of his sinful activities and will haveto suffer. According to law, if a man kills someone he must himself bekilled. The idea of a life for a life is not a very new concept but can befound in the Manu-saṁhitā,the Vedic lawbook formankind, where it is stated that when a king hangs the murderer, the murdereris actually benefited, for if he is not killed, he will carry the reactionfor his murder and will have to suffer in so many ways. |
The laws of nature are very subtle and are very diligently administered, although people do not know it. In the Manu-saṁhitā the concept of a life for a life is sanctioned, and it is actually observed throughout the world.Similarly, there are other laws which state that one cannot even kill an antwithout being responsible. Since we cannot create, we have no right to kill anyliving entity, and therefore man-made laws that distinguish between killing aman and killing an animal are imperfect. Although there are imperfections inman-made laws, there cannot be defects in the laws of God. According to thelaws of God, killing an animal is as punishable as killing a man. Those whodraw distinctions between the two are concocting their own laws. Even in theTen Commandments it is prescribed, “Thou shall not kill.” This is a perfectlaw, but by discriminating and speculating men distort it. “I shall not killman, but I shall kill animals.” In this way people cheat themselves andinflict suffering on themselves and others. In any case, however, God’s lawswill not excuse such behavior. |
Everyone is God’s creature, although in different bodies or dresses. God is considered the one supreme father. A father may have many children, and some may be intelligent and others not very intelligent, but if an intelligent son tells his father,“My brother is not very intelligent; let me kill him,” will the father agree?Simply because one son is not very intelligent and the other desires to killhim to avoid the burden, the father will never agree. Similarly, if God isthe supreme father, why should He sanction the killing of animals who are alsoHis sons? In Bhagavad-gītā Goddeclares to Arjuna that all I am their seed giving father,” the Lord says.just as in ordinary material procreation the father gives the seed and themother develops the body by supplying the necessary blood to the embryo, similarly,the living entities, parts and parcels of the supreme father, are impregnatedby the Lord in material nature. |
The dimension of the spirit soul is very minute and is given in the scriptures as keśāgra—one ten thousandth the portion of the tip of a hair. We can hardly imagine a very small point divided into thousands of parts. In other words, it is so minutethat it cannot be perceived even by the most powerful microscope. Thus thedimension of the spiritual spark is so minute that it is invisible to mundanevision. All of this information is given in the scriptures, but because we donot have the proper vision, we cannot see. Although our material eyes cannotperceive the dimension of the soul, the soul is nonetheless within the body,and as soon as it departs, it takes another body according to its work. |
One should always consider that behind all these activities is superior superintendence. The living entity works in the material world just as the office worker works at his job, and a service record is kept of his performance. The living entitydoes not know what the opinion of his superior is, but his service record iskept in the office nonetheless, and according to his activities he is awardedpromotion or increment of pay, or sometimes he may be demoted or even fired.Similarly, for all our activities there are witnesses; therefore it is saidin the scriptures that the living entities are under superior supervision andthat they are rewarded and punished according to their work. Now we havehuman bodies, but in the next life we may not have them; we may havesomething else, better or lower. The type of body is decided by the livingentity’s superiors. Generally the living entity does not know the science ofhow the spirit soul transmigrates from one body to another. |
The spirit soul transmigrates even in the duration of one life as the body changes. When the body is first manifest in the womb of the mother, it is very small, just like a pea, and it gradually develops nine holes—two eyes, two ears, two nostrils,one mouth, one genital, and one rectum. In this way the body develops, and aslong as it needs to develop within the mother’s womb, it remains there. Whenit is sufficiently developed to go outside, it comes out and grows. Growth entailschanging of the body. This change cannot be understood because it isimperceivable to the living entity. In childhood we had small bodies whichnow no longer exist; therefore it can be said that we have changed ourbodies. Similarly, because of the nature of material things, we have tochange this body when it ceases to work. Every material thing deteriorates,and like a broken machine or an old piece of cloth the body becomes uselessafter a certain length of time. |
Although this process of growth is always taking place, the educational system in modern universities, though considered advanced, unfortunately does not deal with this. Actually there is no education without spiritual knowledge. One canlearn to earn bread, eat, sleep and mate without a formal education. Animalsare not educated—they are not technicians, and they have no universitydegrees—but they are also eating, sleeping, mating and defending. If theeducational system simply teaches these processes, it does not deserve thename of education. Real education enables us to understand what we are. Aslong as man does not develop his consciousness by understanding the truth ofthe self, all of his actions will be performed in the mode of ignorance. Ahuman life is meant for victory over the laws of material nature. Actually,we are all trying to attain that victory in order to counteract the onslaughtof material nature. The ultimate victory is to conquer birth, death, diseaseand old age, but we have neglected this important point. |
If the educational system dealt with the proper utilization of what God is supplying, it would improve. All the fruits and grains we eat are given by God, who supplies food to all living entities. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is stated, jīvo jīvasyajīvanam: “One livingentity is food for another.” (Bhāg. 1.13.47) Animals without handsare food for animals with hands, such as ourselves. Animals with no legs arefood for animals with four legs. Grass is a living entity, but it has no legswith which to move, and thus it is eaten by cows and other animals. Suchnonmoving entities are food for moving animals, and in this way the world isin a constant struggle between exploiters and exploited. The weaker is exploitedby the stronger; this is nature’s law. Traditionally, Vaiṣṇavas, or devotees of Kṛṣṇa, do not eat meat.This is not just for the sake of vegetarianism, but for the furtherance ofGod consciousness. In order to become God conscious, one must follow some rulesand regulations. Of course one has to eat, but the proposal is that oneshould eat remnants of foodstuffs that are offered to Kṛṣṇa. This is also thephilosophy of Bhagavad-gītā, whereinKṛṣṇa says: |
patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ |
“If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, fruit or water, I will accept it.” (Bg. 9.26) |
It is not that Kṛṣṇa is hungry and is begging food from us. The purpose of this offering is to create a loving transaction. Kṛṣṇa wants this transaction: “You love Me, and I’ll love you.” As God, Kṛṣṇa’s energy creates andsustains everything, so why should he beg a leaf, a fruit and a little waterfrom us? He will be very pleased, however, if we offer him a piece of fruit,a leaf and water with love, saying, “K font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ font-family:"Georgia","serif""">a, I am so poor that I cannot secure anything.I have secured this fruit and a leaf. Kindly accept them.” Such an offeringwould make Kṛṣṇa very glad. If Heeats what we offer, our life will be successful, for we will actually makefriends with Kṛṣṇa. Fruit, flowers andwater can be secured practically in any part of the world by any man, poor orrich, and can be offered. We should remember then that it is notvegetarianism which is important, nor is it that God is in need of anything.The important point is that we simply have to try to learn how to love Kṛṣṇa. |
Love begins with this give and take. We give something to our lover, he gives something to us, and in this way love develops. When we create any loving transaction with any boy or girl, man or woman, we give and take. Thus K 14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ 14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif""">a is teaching us how to give and take.Kṛṣṇa is begging us: “Tryto love Me. Learn how to love Me. Offer something to Me.” |
“Sir,” we may say, “I have nothing to give You.” |
“Oh, you cannot collect a piece of fruit, a flower, a leaf or a little water?” |
“Oh yes, why not? Anyone can collect this.” |
This then is the method of Kṛṣṇa consciousness which allows one to make friends with K font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ font-family:"Georgia","serif""">a. We can enter into any number of relationships with Kṛṣṇa. We can become adirect servant of Kṛṣṇa, or in the higheststages we can become Kṛṣṇa’s father, mother or lover.Kṛṣṇa is prepared toestablish a loving relationship with all living entities. In actuality thisrelationship is already there because He is the supreme father and we are Hisparts and parcels. Because the son is part of the body of the father, the relationshipbetween them cannot be broken; it may be forgotten for some time, but as soonas one recognizes his father or son, immediately affection develops.Similarly, we are eternally related to K font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ font-family:"Georgia","serif""">a, but at the present moment this relationshipis simply forgotten or suppressed. Consequently we think that we have norelationship with Kṛṣṇa, but this is not afact. Because we are integral with Him, because we are part and parcel ofHim, our relationship with Him is eternal. That relationship simply has to berevived, and that revival is this process of K 14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ 14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif""">a consciousness. |
At present we are under the sway of a different consciousness. One person is thinking that he is Indian, another is thinking that he is American, and someone else is thinking, “I am this,” or “I am that.” In this way we create so manyartificial identities, but our actual identity should be, “I am Kṛṣṇa’s.” When we think inthis way, we are thinking in K font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ font-family:"Georgia","serif""">a consciousness. Only in this way canuniversal love among all living entities be established. Kṛṣṇa is related toeveryone as eternal father, and consequently when we establish a Kṛṣṇa consciousrelationship, we become related to everyone. When one marries, heautomatically establishes a relationship with the spouse’s family. Similarly,if we reestablish our original relationship with Kṛṣṇa, we will establishour true relationship with everyone else. That is the ground for realuniversal love. Universal love is artificial and cannot endure unless weestablish our relationship with the center. One is American if he is born inAmerica, and thus other Americans become members of his family, but if he isborn elsewhere, he has no relationship with Americans. On the mundaneplatform all relationships are relative. Our relationship with Kṛṣṇa, however, is eternaland not subject to time and circumstance. When we reestablish ourrelationship with Kṛṣṇa, the questions ofuniversal brotherhood, justice, peace and prosperity will be answered. Thereis no possibility of realizing these higher ideals without Kṛṣṇa. If the centralpoint is missing, how can there be brotherhood and peace? |
In Bhagavad-gītā the peace formula is clearly given. We have to understand that K "Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ "Georgia","serif""">a is the only enjoyer. The consciousness of this is developed in a Kṛṣṇa conscious temple where the central point of all activities is K 14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ 14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif""">a. All cooking is carried on for Kṛṣṇa, not for one’s ownpurposes. Ultimately we shall eat the prasādam (offeredfood), but when we cook we should think that we are cooking for Kṛṣṇa and not forourselves. When the members of a temple go into the streets, they do not doso for their own sake but to distribute K font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ font-family:"Georgia","serif""">a conscious literatures in order to makepeople aware of Kṛṣṇa’s presence. Allmonies acquired are spent for K font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ font-family:"Georgia","serif""">a, in spreading His message in so many ways.Such a style of life, in which everything is done for Kṛṣṇa, promotes thedevelopment of Kṛṣṇa consciousness withinthe living entity. Our activities may remain the same; we simply have tounderstand that we are acting for K font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ font-family:"Georgia","serif""">a and not for our personal satisfaction. Inthis way we can come to our original consciousness and be happy. Unless oneis established in his original consciousness, which is Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he iscertain to be crazy to some degree. Everyone who is not Kṛṣṇa conscious is to beconsidered crazy because he exists on a platform which is temporary andtransient. Since we as living entities are eternal, temporary activities arenot our concern. Our engagements should be eternal because we are eternal,and that eternal engagement is the rendering of service to Kṛṣṇa in love. |
Kṛṣṇa is the supreme eternal, and we are subordinate eternals. K 14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ 14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif""">a is the supreme living entity, and we are subordinate living entities. The finger is part and parcel of the total body, and its eternal function is to serve the body. Indeed, that is the verypurpose for the finger, and if it cannot serve the whole body, it is diseasedor useless. Similarly, as part and parcel we have to serve Kṛṣṇa and be subordinateto Him because as the supreme father He supplies all our necessities. Such alife of subordination to K "Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ "Georgia","serif""">a is a normal life and is a life of actual liberation.Those who try to deny Kṛṣṇa and live outside ofany relationship to Him are actually leading a sinful life. |
Śukadeva Gosvāmī and Mahārāja Parīkṣit discussed this subject, and Parīkṣit Mahārāja was anxious to know how the conditioned souls could be saved from their hellishlives. It is the natural desire of a Vai font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṣṇ font-family:"Georgia","serif""">ava to save suffering humanity. Generallyothers do not care whether people suffer or not, but a Vaiṣṇava, a devotee of theLord, is always thinking of how to alleviate the fallen condition of thepeople. Christians believe that through His crucifixion Lord Jesus Christassimilated all the sinful activities of the world’s people. A devotee of theLord is always thinking of how to assimilate the sufferings of others. Asimilar devotee was Vāsudeva Datta, who was Lord Caitanya’s associate. Hetold the Lord: “Now that You have come, kindly deliver all people on thisearth and take them to Vaiku "Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṇṭ "Georgia","serif""">ha, the spiritual world. And if You think that they are sosinful that they cannot be delivered, please transfer all their sins unto me.I shall suffer for them.” This is a Vai font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṣṇ font-family:"Georgia","serif""">ava’s mercy. However, it is not that JesusChrist or Vāsudeva Datta should make a contract for our sins and that weshould go on committing them, for this is a most heinous proposal. A Vaiṣṇava or devotee maysuffer for all humanity, but the human race or a particular devotee’sdisciples should not take advantage of this facility and continue to commitsins. One should, rather, realize that since Lord Jesus Christ or VāsudevaDatta suffered for him, he should stop committing sins. |
Factually everyone is responsible for his own sinful activities. Therefore Śukadeva Gosvāmī recommends, tasmāt puraivāśv iha pāpa-niṣkṛtau: "Georgia","serif"""> [SB "Georgia","serif"""> font-family:"Georgia","serif""">6.1.8]In order to free oneself from all the reactions of sinful activities, as longas one is embodied, he should atone. Yateta mṛtyoravipadyatātmanā doṣasyad font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṭvā guru-lāghavaṁyathā bhi font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṣak cikitseta rujāṁnidāna-vit.Accordingto one’s sinful activities, he should accept a program of atonement. Asmentioned before, there are different atonements for different sinfulactivities. In any case, before death one should perform atonement so that hedoes not carry sinful activities into his next life and have to suffer then.If some atonement for our sinful activities is not performed, nature will notexcuse us. We will have to suffer the effects of our sins in the next life.Such bondage to one’s material activities is called karma-bandhanaḥ. |
yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra |
“Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed, otherwise work binds one to this material world. Therefore, O son of Kuntī, perform your prescribed duties for His satisfaction, and in that way you will alwaysremain unattached and free from bondage.” (Bg. 3.9) |
One may kill an animal to enjoy eating it, but he will be bound by such an action. Thus in one’s next life he will become a cow or a goat, and the cow or goat will become a man and eat him. This is the Vedic statement, and as with all Vedicstatements, one may believe it or not. Unfortunately, at present people areeducated in such a way that they do not believe in the next life. Indeed, itseems that the more “educated” one becomes, the less he believes in God, inGod’s law, in the next life and in sinful and pious activities. Thus moderneducation is simply preparing men to become animals. If there is no educationto teach a human being what he is and whether or not he is this body, heremains no better than an ass. An ass also thinks, “I am this body,” as doother animals. Thus if a man thinks in the same way, how is he different fromany other animal? Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states: |
yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke |
“For one who accepts the body—which is made of three elements—as his self, who has an affinity for intimate bodily relationships with his wife and children, who considers his land worshipableand who accepts the waters of holy places of pilgrimage but does not takeadvantage of the knowledge of the saintly persons there, is to be consideredto be in illusion and no better than an ass or a cow.” (Bhāg. 10.84.13)According to Āyur Veda, thematerial body is composed of three elements, kapha-pitta-vātaiḥ—mucus, bile and air.Within the body there is complex machinery which transforms food into liquid.There are so many complicated bodily processes going on, but what do we knowof them? We say, “This is my body,” but what do we know about this body? Somepeople even claim, “I am God,” but they do not even know what is going onwithin their own bodies. |
The body is a bag of stool, urine, blood and bones If one believes that intelligence comes out of stool, urine, blood and bones, he is a fool. Can we create intelligence by mixing stool, urine, bones and blood? Nonetheless people still think, “I amthis body.” Therefore the scriptures say that whoever accepts this body asthe self and accepts the bodily relations of wife, children and family as hisown, is illusioned. The word kalatra meanswife, and ādi means beginning. Because a man feelsalone, he accepts a wife, and immediately there are children and thengrandchildren. In this way there is expansion. Strī means “that which expands,” so kalatrādiṣu means“expansions ofthe self,” beginning from the wife. The word bhauma refers to the land of one’s birth,which the ignorant consider worshipable (ijya-dhīḥ). People are willingto give up their lives for the land where they were born, but they do notknow that land, body, wife, children, country and society really have nothingto do with them. We are spirit soul (ahaṁbrahmāsmi).This is realization of knowledge, and when we come to this point ofknowledge, we become happy. |
brahma-bhūtaḥ prasannātmā |
“He who is transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman. He never laments nor desires anything. He is equally disposed to all the living entities, and in that state he achievespure devotional service unto Me.” (Bg. 18.54) One immediately becomesjolly (prasannātmā) when he comes tounderstand “I am spirit soul. I am Brahman. I am not this matter.” The sign ofthis joy is that one no longer feels hankering and lamentation. Within thisworld everyone is subject to lamentation for that which is lost and hankeringfor that which must be gained, but real gain is to understand oneself and toknow one’s own identity. |
As long as we maintain the bodily conception of life, we have to abide by the laws of material nature as well as the laws of the state and all other laws. Thus this body is called conditional, because it is subject to different conditions. There are varietiesof conditions, and regardless of the condition to which we are subjected, weare responsible. If we do not atone for sinful activities committed while inthis body, we will have to suffer in the next body because we will getanother body according to karma (yaṁya font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṁ vāpi smaran bhāvaṁtyajaty ante kalevaram [Bg. "Georgia","serif"""> font-family:"Georgia","serif""">8.6]).That is nature’s law. Śukadeva Gosvāmī therefore recommends that one undergoatonement according to the gravity of his sinful activities. One must followthe methods of atonement prescribed in the śāstras, otherwisethere is no rescue. |
Parīkṣit Mahārāja, who was very intelligent, said, “By atonement one can become free from sinful activity, but suppose a man has committed murder and then is killed-the sinful reaction of his murder is thus neutralized, but it is not guaranteedthat in his next life he’ll not kill another man.” Thus Parīkṣit Mahārāja noted thatafter atoning, people commit the same sins again. If a man is diseased, thephysician may give him medicine and cure him, but it does not guarantee thathe will not be attacked again by the same disease. Venereal diseases areoften contacted again and again, despite cures, and a thief may steal againand again, despite being repeatedly being thrown into jail. Why is this?Therefore Parīkṣit Mahārāja noted thatalthough atonement may be good for counteracting sinful activities alreadycommitted, it does not prevent those sins from being committed again.Everyone can see that a man who commits murder is punished, but seeing thisis not enough to deter one from killing. In every scripture and in everylawbook man is warned not to kill, yet no one is concerned with these laws.What is the remedy for this? Dṛṣṭa-śrutābhyāṁyat pāpa font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṁ [SB 6.1.9]. By practical experience and byhearing from authorities, everyone knows what sinful activity is, and no onecan say, “I do not know what sin is.” What is the value of atonement if onecommits the same sin again and again after atoning? Kvacinnivartate ’bhadrāt kvacic carati tat punaḥprāyaścittam ato ’pārthaṁmanye kuñjara-śaucavat (Bhāg. 6.1.10). When one is beingpunished, he thinks, “What a mistake I have made! I shall not commit this sinanymore.” But as soon as he is out of danger, he again commits the same sin. |
Habit is second nature; it is very difficult to break. Śvā yadi kriyate rājā/ tat kiṁ nāśnāty upānaham (Hitopadeśa): One may seat a dog on a royal throne, but as soon as he sees a shoe, he will immediately jump downand run after it simply because he is a dog. The canine qualities are there,and they cannot be changed simply by putting the dog on a throne. Similarly,we have acquired material qualities by associating with the three modes ofmaterial nature—sattva guṇa,rajo gu font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṇa and tamo guṇa—and our habits areformed by association with these three qualities, which are the qualities ofgoodness, passion and ignorance. If, however, we disassociate ourselves fromthe three modes of material nature, our real spiritual nature is invoked.That is the process of K "Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ "Georgia","serif""">a consciousness. If one is K 14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ 14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif""">a conscious, there is no chance of hisassociating with the three modes of material nature, and when one isconscious of Kṛṣṇa, one’s spiritualnature is automatically invoked. That is the secret. Those who seriouslyfollow the process of Kṛṣṇa consciousness,though previously habituated to many undesirable things, are able to stay on aplatform where there is no material contamination simply by virtue ofpracticing Kṛṣṇa consciousness. |
Thus Kṛṣṇa consciousness is an excellent medicine. Unless one comes to awareness of Kṛṣṇa, the habits he forms in association with the three modes of material nature will continue, and he will not be able to change them. If one actually wants freedom from therepetition of birth and death, he must come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In Bhagavad-gītā Lord K 14.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif""">ṛṣṇ 14.0pt;font-family:"Georgia","serif""">a says: |
māṁ ca yo vyabhicāreṇa |
“One who engages in full devotional service, who does not fall down in any circumstance, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.” (Bg. 14.26) |
The Kṛṣṇa consciousness process does not recommend this atonement or that atonement. One can go on experimenting by atoning, but the diseases of the soul will remain unless one comes to the platform of rendering devotional service in love and purifyinghis life. |
Ref: Krsna Consciousness, The Matchless Gift
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